Sehore: A family in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, may have struck it rich by digging out a 109-year-old war loan certificate.
The family has now sought answers about a Rs 35,000 that it had lent to the British government during World War I. More than a century after the money was invested in the Indian War Loan in 1917, the family has now received a response from the UK’s Debt Management Office (DMO).
Vivek Ruthia, a 63-year-old resident of Sehore, Madhya Pradesh, said his family approached the British authority to find out whether the loan taken from his ancestor was ever repaid, as reported by News18.
His lawyer recently received an email from the DMO asking for a copy of the original war loan certificate and related correspondence, The Times of India reported.
“I am extremely happy. I never imagined there would be a response at this stage,” Ruthia has been reported as saying.
The response has given them hope that historical records could finally help establish what happened to the money, he said.
The family is now preparing the required documents, along with other archival records, to send to the British authority.
The certificate, dated June 4, 1917, states that Seth Jumma Lal Ruthia, associated with the firm Seth Rama Kishan Jaskaran Ruthia in Bhopal State, subscribed Rs 35,000 to the Indian War Loan during World War I.
“Seth Jumma Lal subscribed Rs. 35,000/- of the firm of Seth Rama Kishan Jaskaran Ruthia (Rupees Thirty-five thousand) to the Indian War Loan and thereby showed his loyalty to the Government and Empire,” the document, signed by W S Davis, then political agent in Bhopal, states.
The amount was never repaid, the family has claimed.
Seth Jumma Lal Ruthia died in 1937, but the family says it had found no records showing that the money was returned or settled before or after India’s independence in 1947.
It has also suggested that the amount that was given as a loan in 1917 might be worth crores if compound interest were applied. They also compared the original sum with historical and current gold prices, with some estimates putting its current equivalent at more than Rs 10 crore.
This does not mean the UK government currently owes the family that amount though. Any genuine claim would depend on the terms of the certificate, whether interest was payable, its maturity and redemption provisions and whether any re-payment was made.
